Posidonia
Sea Tourism Forum Unveils Programme and spectacular Speaker Line Up
The
developmental prospects of the cruising and yachting sectors in the
wider East Mediterranean and Black Sea regions in relation to the
changing geopolitical and economic landscape of the sub-region's
source and destination markets will be tabled at the 2nd Posidonia
Sea Tourism Forum taking place in Athens in May.
Senior
international policy and decision makers from the world's top cruise
lines and yachting service providers will join regulators, maritime
government officials and local authorities of port destinations in a
unique lineup of sea tourism industry experts to debate the crucial
issues that determine their growth trends and future
sustainability.
Confirmed
top speakers and panelists of the Forum include amongst others:
John
Fox, Vice President, Government Relations, U.S. and
Europe, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Giora
Israel, Senior Vice President Port and Destination
Development, Carnival Corporation
Richard
Vogel, Chief Executive Officer, TUI Cruises
John
Tercek, Vice President Commercial & New Business
Development, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Kyriakos
Anastassiadis, Chief Executive Officer, LOUIS
Cruises
Diane
Moore, President, Paul Gauguin Cruises
Robert
Ashdown, Secretary General, CLIA Europe
Neil
Palomba, Chairman of the CLIA Europe Ports
& Infrastructure Sub-Committee and Corporate Operating
Officer, MSC Cruises
Stavros
Hatzakos, President, Medcruise
Toby
Maclaurin, President, MYBA The Worldwide Yachting
Association
Hein
Velema, Chief Executive Officer, Fraser Yachts
Worldwide
Matthew
Bate, Chief Executive Officer, D-Marin Marinas Group
James
Beaver, Operations Director, Camper & Nicholsons
Marinas Limited
Maria
Damanaki, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and
Fisheries
Konstantinos
Moussouroulis, Minister of Shipping, Maritime Affairs and the
Aegean
"The
importance attached to our Forum by the industry's most influential
players is indicative of the critical juncture we find ourselves
today as the East Med was just beginning to take off and expectations
were bullish until it was hit by the financial crisis and the Arab
Spring uprising," said Theodore Vokos, Project Director,
Posidonia Exhibitions SA, the organisers of the event.
"Cruise
Lines are currently increasing supply to the Far East, at the expense
of our region's prospects as they are delaying deployment of further
capacity in our region, and Greece and the East Med region need to
compensate by accelerating the development of the emerging backyard
markets, so as to re-attract attention and stimulate growth,"
said Vokos.
The
conference will commence with a session looking at growth challenges
for the region with a focus on the role of governments, legislation
and environmental considerations in relation to long-term corporate
strategies.
During
the first day, delegates will also discuss the importance of port
investment to the growth of the cruise industry and take a detailed
look at how Italy, Turkey and the Black Sea have attracted such
investments at the expense of Greece which has yet failed to fully
capitalise on its potential. However, Greece's expected port
privatization, currently in the planning stages, is expected to
attract increased investment interest from both international port
managers and cruise lines, who will attend the Posidonia Sea Tourism
Forum and who in turn will be able to present possible investment
plans and table the cruise industry's needs so as to improve port
infrastructure in Greece.
The
conference will also include a dedicated sales development session,
of upmost importance for the region's future sea tourism growth.
Topics to be discussed are the region's new emerging source markets
of Russia, Ukraine and Turkey and how this potential can be tapped.
The Cruise Day’s final session will address the key parameters of
port, destination and shore excursion selection for cruise success.
The
Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum has also attracted the interest of
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which
will host the event's parallel session on Day 2 "Black Sea
Discovery: Exciting Cruise Destinations on the Black Sea" that
will include discussions about the Black Sea destinations of Sochi,
Trabzon and Constanta and their role towards the growth of sea
tourism in the region.
The
international appeal of the event is also reflected by its rapidly
increasing list of exhibitors, which includes destinations from the
East Med and Black and Red Sea regions. So far confirmed sponsors
include Louis Cruises, RINA and the Dubai Maritime City Authority,
which has picked this event to promote the new services and
facilities Dubai provides the sea tourism industry.
The
focus of the second day will be the yachting and passenger shipping
sectors; the opening session will discuss the status of cabotage in
the Greek commercial yachting sector and examine the Greek
government's willingness and readiness to follow a more liberalized
framework.
With
more than 15 marinas in Greece earmarked for privatisation, it is
expected that international marina managers, including Camper &
Nicholsons Marinas and D-Marin Marinas Group who have recently
invested in Greek Marinas, will present their future strategy for the
region.
"Another
dedicated session will look at Greece's policies on marina
privatisation in relation to the strong interest expressed by Turkish
and other international marina developers and operators and the
receptiveness of the Greek government to benefit from the know-how
and advanced expertise of international private investors," said
Vokos.
The
2nd Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum is organised under the auspices of
the Greek Ministry of Tourism, the Greek Ministry of Shipping,
Maritime Affairs and the Aegean, CLIA - Europe, the Hellenic Chamber
of Shipping, the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), the
Association of Passenger Shipping Companies, the Association of
Mediterranean Cruise Ports (MEDCRUISE), the Hellenic Ports'
Association (ELIME), the Hellenic Professional Yacht Owners'
Association, the Greek Marinas' Association, the Union of Greek
Cruise Ship Owners & Associated Members, the Hellenic Association
of Travel & Tourist Agencies (HATTA) and the Hellenic Yacht
Brokers' Association.
